Hamilton residents combine with Police to prevent burglary a

Hamilton Police are the
commending the actions of Nawton resident who used camera
equipment set up to capture yesterday's eclipse to catch a
trio of burglars in the act of breaking into a home.

City
Tactical Coordinator, Senior Sergeant Freda Grace, said a
woman was at home preparing for a spot of amateur astronomy
when she saw something far darker threatening her
neighbour's home.

"She noticed three juvenile males
acting suspiciously down the street so kept an eye on them.
Then when she saw one knock on a neighbour's door and saw
another jump the fence, she dialled 111.

"While providing
a commentary on the boys' activities to the Police operator
the woman used her camera to photograph the offenders and
these images, coupled with the description she gave them,
meant a patrol in the area was able to apprehend the trio
within minutes."

Ms Grace the woman's actions were
exactly what Police meant when they speak about Police and
the community working together to prevent crime.

"This is
a perfect example; the woman saw something and then did
something without placing herself at risk. That doing
something was phoning 111 in a timely manner enabling us to
respond and then going the extra mile by capturing images of
the offenders.

"As a result the three boys, aged 14, 14
and 16-years-old were arrested for burglary and Police were
able to advise the home owners of what had occurred and that
arrests had been made before they even knew they had been
burgled."

Ms Grace said yesterday's success wasn't the
only example of local residents stepping up to protect their
own or neighbours' homes over recent days.

"Four days ago
a Fairfield resident, who had already been the victim of
burglars and received crime prevention advice during a
community constable's visit, put that advice to good use
when he saw three teenage boys acting suspiciously and
phoned 111.

"Officers arrived to find the trio breaking
in through a neighbour's ranch slider and arrested them."

Ms Grace said an Enderley resident also made good use of
security advice given to him after his home was broken into
and installed a state of the art security system.

"Unfortunately his home was burgled last week but this
time, due to high resolution images captured by the security
cameras and an 18-year-old male is now in prison.

"Then
two days ago a Rotokauri couple's home was broken into but
the offenders fled after a burglar alarm was activated. The
alarm had been installed after Police had visited their home
following a burglary earlier in the year."

Ms Grace said
the value of crime prevention advice was high provided
victims adhered to it but Police would prefer to prevent
crimes from happening in the first place and encouraged
people to contact them before they became victims for
information on how to target harden their homes.

"There
are a range of cost effective measures available, some just
involve getting to know your neighbours or setting up a
Neighbourhood Support group.

"You can also log on to the
Operation SNAP website, www.snap.org.nz . This FREE website
is used to record serial numbers and images of valuables
such as electronics, firearms, passports and jewellery and
can greatly assist Police in tracing your property if it is
stolen."

Ms Grace said other options include investing in
security systems, alarms or synthetic DNA marking.

"But
one of the simplest things you can do is like these
community heroes- if you see something, do something and
that is ring 111."

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